(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a turbine-boosted, ultraviolet-radiation sterilizing fluid processor, particularly one comprising a diversion mechanism installed at the top of a diversion tube to process fluid, so the fluid flow forms a whirlpool spinning at a high speed to improve the sterilization effect.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
A regular ultraviolet-radiation lamp processor involves an ultraviolet-radiation lamp installed inside a quartz sleeve. The flow rate of the fluid through the tube unit depends on the total energy of the ultraviolet radiation emitted from the lamp. When a fluid flows through the tube unit, the germs, algae or other organisms absorb the ultraviolet-radiation energy until the sterilizing effect is fatal. In a prior art of the tube unit, there is only a tube through which fluid flows. The fluid flow directly passes the interior, no matter if the ultraviolet radiation is emitted from the inside or outside to perform the sterilizing effects. Due to the restriction of the fluid flow rate, the slow-flowing fluid inside the tube unit is not blended properly, resulting in inconsistent exposure time while the fluid is being processed. Thus the sterilization is unsatisfactory. Furthermore, when the fluid passes by the tube unit, the cross-sectional area of passage is larger than the cross-sectional area of the fluid inlet tube, so the flow is slowed, resulting in accumulation of dirt onto the wall of the quartz sleeve, which obstructs and reduces the penetration of the ultraviolet radiation, and directly reduces the total energy of ultraviolet radiation absorbed by the organisms in the fluid. If all or part of the organisms in the fluid can not absorb a sufficient amount of ultraviolet energy to reach the fatal dosage when the fluid passes through the tube unit, there will be a total failure of the sterilizing functions. The loss of this sterilization is a major detriment.
Effects of sterilization are dependent on whether the ultraviolet energy can be absorbed sufficiently to reach to the fatal dosage of each living organism in the fluid. The effectiveness is dependent on whether the fluid is properly stirred and the degree of penetration of ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, the three major factors effecting the ultraviolet sterilization are: xe2x80x9cconsistent radiating timexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cthe penetration of the ultraviolet radiationxe2x80x9d and the xe2x80x9cabsorption of a fatal dosagexe2x80x9d.
In analyzing the prior art of ultraviolet-radiation lamp processors it is found that they are deficient in the factors above. The construction of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, wherein inside-a tubular casing (a) is a spiral diversion plate (b), on the upper and lower part of the tubular casing (a) is respectively a fluid inlet tube (a1) and a fluid outlet tube (a2), wherein fluid can flow into the fluid inlet tube (a1) and out of the fluid outlet tube (a2). Inside the tubular casing (a) is a hole through the center (a3) in which the ultraviolet lamp (c) is installed to achieve sterilizing objectives.
A common characteristic of other types of ultraviolet-radiation lamp processors disclosed in other patents, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,069,885, 5,785,845, 5,675,153, 5,605,400, 1,175,948, 1,822,006 and 3,754,658, and Japanese Patent Nos. Zhao-59-150589 and Te-Kai-Zhao-57-75113, relates to a spiral conduction plate installed in a tube unit, so that fluid flow will rotate inside the tube unit, and the fluid will then be blended to achieve the consistent absorption of a fatal dosage.
However, in the above units the fluid flows through the spiral diversion plate (b) and spins around the ultraviolet-radiation lamp (c) but the line and speed of the fluid flow are restricted by the length of the conduction current plate, thus resulting in an insufficient blending of the fluid. In addition, the volume of flow and speed of the fluid flowing through each diversion channel are not consistent and the desired sterilizing effect will not be achieved.
Moreover, the spiral diversion plate (b) only provides guidance to lead the fluid to flow at a low speed, and the extraneous matter contained in the fluid will easily accumulate on the surface of the ultraviolet-radiation lamp (c) thus obstructing and reducing the penetration of ultraviolet radiation, and reducing the sterilizing effects of the ultraviolet-radiation lamp (c).
Additionally, the tubular casing (a) has a spiral diversion plate (b) that is quite sophisticated in its configuration, causing increased production costs and reduced market competitiveness.
The main objective of the present invention is to provide a turbine-boosted, ultraviolet-radiation sterilizing fluid processor by which the fluid flowing into the unit forms a whirlpool rotating at a high speed even if the flow rate of fluid is restricted, enabling sufficient blending of the processed fluid to achieve maximum sterilization effect.
In order to achieve the objective mentioned above and avoid the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention includes a quartz sleeve installed inside an outer tube unit, inside which is installed an ultraviolet-radiation lamp. At the upper and lower end of the tube unit is respectively a fluid inlet tube and a fluid outlet tube. Near the top of the outer tube unit a diversion mechanism is installed below the fluid inlet tube. The top of the tube is then a pressured-fluid chamber with the diversion mechanism containing several parallel spiral blades on a ring unit. A diversion channel is formed between the spiral blades that are inclined at a specified angle. It should be noted that the fluid inlet hole is larger than the fluid outlet hole of the diversion channel.
The inclination angle of the spiral blade of the present invention ranges from 91 to 179 degrees.
The downward inclination angle of the tapered protrusion located at the lower part of the diversion mechanism of the present invention ranges from 1 to 89 degrees.
The upward inclination angle of the tapered depression located at the lower part of the diversion mechanism of the present invention ranges from 1 to 89 degrees.
The fluid inlet hole of the diversion mechanism of the present invention is located at the upper part of the diversion channel, while the fluid outlet hole is located at the lower part of the diversion channel.
The diversion mechanism of the present invention is a ring unit, having a fluid inlet hole located on an outside rim of the diversion channel, and a fluid outlet hole on an inside rim of the diversion channel.
The diversion mechanism of the present invention is a ring unit, having a fluid inlet hole located on an inside rim of the diversion channel, and a fluid outlet hole on an outside rim of the diversion channel.
By the present invention, a whirlpool spinning at a high speed is formed inside the tube unit no matter whether the flow rate of the fluid is low or high, so that the fluid for the sterilizing function can be blended properly, thus increasing its sterilizing effects. Also the effect of the fluid spinning at high speed against the wall of the quartz sleeve reduces the accumulation of dirt on the wall of the quartz sleeve, thus reducing the need for frequent maintenance.